There are some recipes that you make over and over again. For us, these Chocolate Amarettini Cookies are one of these recipes. A family favorite! I don’t know how many times I’ve baked them… and not just around Christmas. These little almond-chocolaty balls are great all year round! Why limit yourself to just a few weeks of the year when everyone likes it? ;P
We have a small list of Christmas cookies that we bake almost every year. These Amarettini cookies are on that list and baked over and over again. Sometimes with, sometimes without chocolate added. The cookies are equally delicious when you leave out the cocoa. So if you’re not quite so keen on chocolate (really?!), you can bake »old-fashioned« Amarettini instead ;)
There are tons of cookie recipes out there to make around Christmas. Anyone who likes to bake Christmas cookies (or Plätzchen, as we call them in Germany) will certainly be familiar with the problem of having leftover ingredients sometimes. I am primarily referring to eggs – egg whites and egg yolks specifically. You don’t have to worry about the dry stuff like flour, sugar, chocolate, etc. Just leave any of it you don’t need in the package it came in, and you are fine to use it for the next baking session. It’s a little different with eggs. If a recipe calls for egg yolks only, you are automatically left with the egg whites. What do you do with those? Throw them away? Nope! The easiest thing to do here is to combine two recipes – one that uses egg yolks only and one where you need egg whites only. To be honest – it’s not rocket science ;P
I like to bake a bunch of different Christmas cookies in November and December – that’s why I make lists for the ingredients I need. Not only so I know what to buy in the supermarket, but also because I want to check which recipes have to be combined to be the most efficient. ;P So whenever I am in the mood for these Chocolate Amarettini, I have to find a second recipe, to use those egg yolks. Easy-peasy Biscoff Thumbprint Cookies are a perfect fit here. For those cookies, you need egg yolks only…
Of course, lists like this are a bit »nerdy« – I have to be honest here. But if you bake a lot and don’t want to waste anything, something like that is really helpful. I could also give leftovers to our dog, of course, but I don’t want him to put on weight around Christmas because of me. We are not going out that often, because he does not like the cold… less exercise and more food is not the best combination for him. Or anyone else ;P
Anyway. These Chocolate Amarettini are definitely very tasty. Crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. The typical texture of all Amarettini cookies, I guess. Unless they are baked commercially and are supposed to have a shelf-life of a hundred years… those cookies are normally dry AF – excuse my French ;P These cookies here are designed to be eaten within a few days, not months ;P
This means, if you want to eat these cookies here throughout the Christmas season, you will have to bake them several times. But that’s no problem. The cookies are quick and easy to prepare. You can theoretically make them on the side when working from home. Instead of taking a short coffee break, you bake some cookies. This can be very relaxing ;P
From all the Christmas cookie recipes we got here on the blog, there is one where the cookies look quite similar. My Chocolate Snowballs with Baileys look pretty much identical… but they are very different. No almonds, but booze ;P If you like baking with almonds, you should try my Easy Almond Marzipan Logs. They are a new take on classic almond croissants and also extremely tasty! I can really only recommend them if you are into almonds, marzipan, and all that stuff!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 20 cookies)
7 oz.(200g) ground almonds (blanched)
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. cold water
several drops of almond extract (optional)
1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar, plus more if needed
(etwa 20 Amarettini)
200g Mandeln (blanchiert & gemahlen)
150g Zucker
3 EL Kakaopulver
1 Prise Salz
2 Eiweiß (L)
1/4 TL Zitronensaft
2 EL kaltes Wasser
einige Tropfen Bittermandelöl (optional)
30g Puderzucker, bei Bedarf auch mehr
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Add ground almonds, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until stiff peaks form. Add the stiff egg whites, water, and almond extract (optional) to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix to combine. The dough will be quite soft and sticky.
3. Add the confectioners’ sugar to a small bowl. Use a small cookie scoop* to portion the dough and roll it into small balls (a little bit smaller than walnuts). Roll these balls in the confectioners’ sugar to coat them completely with the sugar, then place them with some space in between on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the Amarettni for 23-25 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool down on the baking sheet for a moment, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. If not all Amarettni fit on one sheet, repeat the process with the remaining dough. Store the Amarettini at room temperature in a cookie tin for up to 7 days.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen.
2. Gemahlene Mandeln, Zucker, Kakao und Salz in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. In einer zweiten Schüssel das Eiweiß mit dem Zitronensaft steif schlagen. Den Eischnee dann mit dem Wasser und dem Bittermandelöl (optional) in die Schüssel mit den trockenen Zutaten dazugeben und alles gut vermengen. Der Teig wird recht weich und klebrig sein.
3. Den Puderzucker in eine kleine Schüssel füllen. Mit einem Keksportionierer* kleine Teigportionen abstechen und zu Kugeln formen (von der Größe her wie kleine Walnüsse). Diese Kugeln im Puderzucker wälzen – die Puderzuckerschicht sollte durchgehend und relativ dick sein – dann mit etwas Abstand auf das vorbereitete Backblech setzen. Die Amarettni etwa 23-25 Minuten backen. Aus dem Ofen holen und kurz auf dem Blech abkühlen lassen, dann auf ein Kuchengitter setzen und vollständig auskühlen lassen. Wenn nicht alle Amarettini auf ein Blech gepasst haben, den Vorgang mit dem restlichen Teig wiederholen. Die Amarettini sollten bei Zimmertemperatur in einer Keksdose bis zu einer Woche durchhalten.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Chocolate Amarettini Cookies
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:23
- Total Time: 00:50
- Yield: 20 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These little Chocolate Amarettini Cookies are the perfect sweet little treat around Christmas. Well… actually all year round to be honest ;)
Ingredients
7 oz.(200g) ground almonds (blanched)
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. cold water
several drops of almond extract (optional)
1/4 cup (30g) confectioners’ sugar, plus more if needed
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Add ground almonds, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice until stiff peaks form. Add the stiff egg whites, water, and almond extract (optional) to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix to combine. The dough will be quite soft and sticky.
3. Add the confectioners’ sugar to a small bowl. Use a small cookie scoop* to portion the dough and roll it into small balls (a little bit smaller than walnuts). Roll these balls in the confectioners’ sugar to coat them completely with the sugar, then place them with some space in between on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the Amarettni for 23-25 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool down on the baking sheet for a moment, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool down completely. If not all Amarettni fit on one sheet, repeat the process with the remaining dough. Store the Amarettini at room temperature in a cookie tin for up to 7 days.
Notes
Let the baking begin!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
